The Crusaders were quick off the mark and were ahead two minutes in, Mitchell Drummond crossing after a break from Nemani Nadolo.

Colin Slade added the extras for a 7-0 lead.

They continued to pour forward and added a second try 16 minutes in. Nadolo was the creator again, stepping in and out of tackles and putting up the final pass to Jordan Taufau who did the rest, with Slade again on the money with the extras.

Dan Bowden got the Blues going with a penalty, and they got further back into it nine minutes before the break with Francis Saili slipping Dan Carter's tackle and dotting down, with Bowden converting to 14-10.

The Crusaders would score the final points of the half, though, with Slade splitting the posts with a late penalty.

They continued where they left off in the second half, Tom Taylor breaking clear to score a third try and Slade converting, and a bonus-point score arrived on the hour-mark as Codie Taylor went in after good set-up play from Carter.

The Blues rallied through an unconverted 63rd-minute Brendon O'Connor try but there would be no grand comeback.

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